GRAFENWOEHR, Germany —
Ten teams will compete in the first U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Drone Warfighter Competition at 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Dec. 8-10, 2025.
The 7ATC hosts the multinational USAREUR-AF’s Best Drone Warfighter Competition to test and showcase unmanned aerial system operator capabilities, and serve as a visible culmination of experimentation, readiness and transformational warfighting initiatives to ensure participating U.S., Allied and Partner Soldiers are trained, tested and ready to deploy modern UAS capabilities in complex operational environments.
The winning U.S. Army team to be announced Dec. 10, 2025, will go on to compete in the U.S. Army’s Best Drone Warfighter Competition in 2026.
The U.S. Army units participating are:
• 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division; rotationally deployed under V Corps
• 2nd Cavalry Regiment, V Corps;
• 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division; rotationally deployed under V Corps
• 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command;
• 7th Engineer Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command;
• 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa;
• Joint Multinational Readiness Center, 7ATC
Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom will also send teams to compete.
Each team of four will have a two-person short-range reconnaissance drone team and a two-person first-person view drone team.
Teams will be scored during three days of graded activities including a written UAS knowledge exam, and two training scenarios conducted on a variety of Soldier skills within a time limit.
7ATC is the premiere training organization, providing high-quality, realistic training like this competition for USAREUR-AF forces as well as multinational Allies and Partners.